Hawleyville sewer project approved

Nanci G. Hutson

Updated 10:39 pm, Wednesday, February 26, 2014

NEWTOWN -- A standing-room-only crowd in the Municipal Center chambers Wednesday night voted to approve a $2.8 million bond issue to design, construct and install sewers in the Hawleyville commercial district on Route 6 and Route 25.

After 90 minutes of questions and debate, the audience voted 81-11 to approve the project that is not expected to cost taxpayers any money. The cost is to be borne by the commercial property owners who will benefit from the sewers.

While the majority favored the potential economic development benefits of the sewer project, which is likely to begin in the summer, there were those who suggested a tax break to property owners from additional development might not be realized. At least one resident said she would prefer to see the property remain open space, and still another questioned whether the project would bring additional traffic to the area.

Resident Bill Stevens said he objects because there is no guarantee the commercial development town leaders project will happen. He also said there was no pledge that tax revenues generated from those developments will occur, nor is there a pledge by town officials that additional revenues will be used to lower residents' tax bills. Resident Kevin Fitzgerald concurred, stating this project seems another example of building with the expectation that development will follow, with no such guarantee.

Proponents, though, said the land owners benefit from sewers because the land becomes more valuable to potential developers.

First Selectman Pat Llodra emphasized that the project has been in the works for more than two years, and that the costs have been substantially reduced from a one-time anticipated figure of $5 million.

Llodra said this is an opportunity to allow the town to have a stronger mix of revenue, so property owners do not bear all the burden for municipal services. In Newtown, about 8 percent of the town's tax revenue is generated through commercial enterprises, while in neighboring towns that percentage ranges more from 10 to 12 percent, she said.

Llodra said she was "insulted" to receive an anonymous document circulated in town that opposed the project with erroneous information, including the allegation that public officials have endorsed the project for "personal gain.''